Katy Perry may be in the midst of some major damage control.
Katy Perry Collections, the pop star’s fashion brand, is removing shoes from Dillard’s and other retailers after online criticism that they resembled blackface caricatures, TMZ reported Monday. The shoes feature glossy eyes, a diamond-shaped nose and bright-red lips.
Perry also has stopped selling the shoes on her fashion brand website.
In a search for the shoes — called “Rue Face Slip On Loafers” and “Ora Face Block Heel Sandal” — on the department store Dillard’s website Monday afternoon, an image of them popped up for a split second before a message appeared informing the customer that the “product is not currently available for purchase.”
Not long after this change, the items went completely missing from the site.
A representative for Perry told HuffPost in a statement that the shoes, which also came in beige, blue, gold and pink, came out last summer and were “envisioned as a nod to modern art and surrealism.”
“I was saddened when it was brought to my attention that it was being compared to painful images reminiscent of blackface,” Perry said. “Our intention was never to inflict any pain.”
The shoes were immediately removed from Perry’s website once the criticism surfaced, she noted.
The “Swish Swish” singer was called out online over the weekend for selling the questionable footwear as blackface controversies ensnared Virginia’s governor and attorney general, spotlighting the issue.
Gucci last week apologized and stopped selling a sweater that resembled blackface caricatures.
This article has been updated to include Perry’s statement.
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